Apparatus for applying strips to paper and like blanks



Oct. 13, 1964 D. R. P. JACKSON 3,152,945

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING STRIPS TO PAPER AND LIKE BLANKS s Sheets -Sheet 1Filed March 5 1962 a. Sat.

D. R. P. JACKSON 3,152,945

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING STRIPS T0 PAPER ANDLIKE BLANKS Oct. 13, 1964 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 5, 1962 MKZZZ @WM Oct. 13, 1964 D. R. P.JACKSON 3,152,945

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING STRIPS T0 PAPER AND LIKE BLANKS Filed March 5, 1962 5 Sheets Sheet 3 2 $XZQZ .m izww United States Patent 3,152,945APPARATUS FOR APPLYlNG ST T0 PAPER AND LIKE BLANKS Donald RichardPatrick Jackson, Deptford, London, England, assignor to Molins MachineCompany Limited, Deptford, London, England, a British company Filed Mar.5, 1962;, Ser. No. 177,579 Claims priority, application Great BritainMar. 10, 1961, 8,864/61 2 Claims. (Cl. 156522) This invention relates toapparatus for applying strips to paper and like blanks. When outerwrappers are folded around and secured on an article or a batch ofarticles it is customary to provide a tab and a tear strip devicewhereby the wrapper may be removed from the article without trouble. Theinvention is for providing wrapper blanks with strips of this nature.Hitherto, it has been usual to feed the strips and the blanks in oneoperation by cutting blanks from a web of material in which case thereis a cut-out at one side of the blank and a corresponding tab at theother so that when the parcel 0r packet is eventually wrapped the tabprotrudes together with the tear strip material which is secured to theblank. It is not always possible nor desirable to work in this mannerand in a particular example for which the invention is intended theouter wrapper is a printed blank of rectangular form and there would beno point in applying a tear strip to such a blank in the manner abovedescribed since the blank is already a finished product. Moreover inanother example where the packet is of oblong cross-section the tab isapproximately half-way up on one of the broad faces of the packet,unlike an ordinary packet where it is located on one edge, and becauseof this it is most difficult to pick up a tab which is lying flat.

According to the invention there is provided apparatus for applying astrip bearing adhesive to a paper or like 3,152,945 Patented Oct. 13,1964 ice l coincides with the leading edge of the strip web at the fixedblank so that one end of a strip overhangs the blank, I

comprising means for supplying strip material as a Web, a web feedingroller having at least part of its circumference arranged to feed aportion of Web of the desired strip length and a web cutting knife onthe roller at the rear end of said part, a presser roller arrangedintermittently to co-operate with the feeding roller to draw web fromthe supply means, means for feeding a blank which is shorter than astrip to the feed roller so that the leading edge of the blank coincidessubstantially with the leading edge of the strip web at the fixed knife,means movable in timed relationship with thefeed roller to cause thepresser roller to co-operate with the feeding roller as a blank reachesthe fixed knife whereby the web is pressed onto the blank, and both arefed forward, a fixed knife adapted to co-operate with thefsaid knife onthe feed roller to cut a strip from the web, and means whereby asucceeding blank may be fed to the roller after an interval followingthe time when the rear end of the said strip leaves the fixed knife. Forexample, there may be two or.

more knives on the feeding roller but the distance between them issufficiently in excess of the strip length to enable an interval tooccur between the cut of one strip and the feeding of the next.

and so that the leading edge of the blank approximately knife, meansmovable in timed relationship with the feed roller to cause the presserroller to co-operate with the feeding roller as the blank reaches thefixed knife whereby the web is pressed onto the blank, and both are fedforwards, a fixed knife and a knife on the feed roller arranged toco-operate therewith and cut a strip from the web. The leading edge ofthe web may be held in position adjacent the fixed knife of the rollersduring the idle revolution of the feed roller by a suction head whichexerts suction sufficient to hold the web in position but not enough tohinder web feeding by the rollers.

Normally the web is a bare strip and adhesive is applied to it intransit to the feeding roller. In such case devices may be provided formoving the web out of contact with the adhesive applier (usually a wheelor roller) when the web is not moving, during idle revolution of thefeed roller. Further, manually operated means may be provided for thesame purpose so as to hold the web away from the adhesive applier duringtimes when the apparatus is not working. Naturally the adhesive appliercould be moved instead but it is easier to move the web.

One construction according to the invention will now be described withreference to the accompanying draw ings, in which: a

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of the apparatus, and

FIGURE 1A is an enlarged fragment of FIGURE 1,

and

FIGURES 2 to 6 are diagrams showing successive stages in the web feedingand strip applying operation.

Referring to FIGURE 1, 1 is a reel of web material S which is to be cutinto strips and applied to blanks B. The web is carried round a flangedguide roller 2 and over a swinging pin 3 which keeps the web taut andeliminates slack and then around another flanged roller 4 where adhesiveis applied as will be explained later, and past a suction head 5 to afeeding roller (Shaving a knife 7 which co-operates with a fixed knife 8as will be hereafter described. The roller 6 is a feeding roller bothfor the web and for the blank B which isconveyed to the roller by bands30.

\Vhere adhesive is to be applied to the web there is provided a gum pot10 in which a gum wheel 9 rotates so as to apply a strip of adhesive tothe web as the latter is presented for adhesive application by theroller Above the roller 6 is a presser roller 11 which 'is mounted on anarm 12 pivoted at 13, a cam lever 14 being fixed tothe arm 12 and havinga roller 15 at its free end, thelever 14 being drawn upward by a spring16. The roller 15 engages a cam 17 which is rotatable at such rate thatthe roller 11 is drawn into contact by the spring with the feedingroller 6 at each second revolution of the roller 6. It will be seen fromthis that the strip material. is only fed by the rollers 6 and 11 atevery second revolution of the feeding roller 6 and thus for each secondrevolution theweb remains stationary. It is therefore desirable towithdraw the web from the gumwheel 9 while the web is stationary inorder to prevent a surplus of gum on the web. For this purpose theroller 22 being provided to draw the lever 20 downward. A

cam 23 which is mounted on the same shaft as the cam 17' and naturallyrotates at the same rate engages the roller 21 and lifts the roller 4out of contact with the gumwheel 9 during such times as the feed roller6 is not drawing web from the supply. The roller 4 is also lifted byprojection 23A of the cam so as to leave an ungummed portion of webwhere'the cut is to be made and to provide an adhesive free extensiontab to the wrapper. At

to the web during such times. These means consist of a paper blank sothat one end of a strip overhangs the blank rod 24 which is fixed to thelever 18 and can be moved to the left in FIGURE 1 so as-to raise theroller 4. At the back of the apparatus there is a lever 25 attached tothe pivot 19 and when the rod 24 has been moved as described, a stud 26is pressed in so as to cause a pin to project from the back of themachine and prevent the arm 25 from moving back.

The operation of the apparatus will now be described referring also toFIGURES 2 to 6 which show stages in the operation.

The web is drawn from the supply as previously mentioned and after astrip has been cut fromit, its leading end is held in position at thefixed knife by the suction head 5, as best seen in FIGURE 2. The web isthen I held away from the gumwheel'9. At this stage a blank B is shownapproaching the web and when its leading edge is approximately levelwith the end of the web, that is, adjacent the fixed knife as in FIGURE3, the roller 11 moves down and both the web and the blank move togetheras in FIGURE 4', meanwhile the gumwheel engages the web. As previouslymentioned, the force exerted by the suctionhead 5 is relatively smalland it is quite easy for the feeding rollers 6 and 11 to draw the webalong in spite of the drag exerted by the suction head. In FIGURE 3 theweb andblank are shown with their leading ends level and it is at thisinstant that feeding the web and the blank together starts to takeplace. Further movement is as shown in FIGURE 4, and in FIGURE 5 theblank has passed beyond the position of the cutting knife and a suitablelength of web has been fed extending beyond the rear-end B1 of the blankto provide a tab and the cut'is then made. The web is withdrawn from thegumwheel at this stage. The roller 11 is then raised as shownin FIGURE 6and the web is held by the suction head and remains in the positionshown and away from the gumwheel until it is necessary to feed more web,after the roller 6 has made an idle revolution, when a further blank iscoming along in the manner shown in FIGURES 2 and 3.

Two short cuts in the trailing end of theblank one either side andadjacent to the extending strip are made previously on the machine tofacilitate and start an easy tearing of the blank during the opening ofthe parcel or like.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for applying a strip bearing adhesive to a comprising meansfor supplying strip material as a web, a web feeding roller and a,presser roller arranged intermittently to cooperate with the webfeeding roller to draw web from the supplying means, means for feeding ablank which is shorter than a strip to the feed roller at every secondrevolution thereof and so that the leading edge of the blankapproximately coincides with the leading edge of the strip web at thefixed knife, means movable in timed relationship with the feed roller tocause the presser roller to cooperate with'the feeding roller as theblank reaches the fixed knife whereby the web is pressed onto the blank,and both are fed forward, a fixed knife and a knife on the feed roller.arranged'to cooperate therewith and cut a strip from the web, means forholding the leading edge of the strip web in a position adjacent the nipof the rollers during the idle revolution of the feed roller, said meansconsisting of a suction head which exerts suction sutficient to hold theweb in position but not enough to hinder web feeding by the feed andpresser rollers.

2. In apparatus for applying a tear strip provided with adhesive to ablank for a package wrapper, so that one end of the strip overhangs theblank, and of the kind having a blank feeder and a pair of feedingrollers arranged in the level of the blanks for joining strip and blank,and a severing device consisting of a rotating knife and a fixed knifefor cutting the tear strip from the web, an arrangement wherein oneroller of the pair of feeding rollers carries the rotating knife and theother roller is provided with means for moving it toward and'away fromthe first said roller and is intermittently pressed by said means towardthe first said roller to feed strip web and blank through the rollers atthe moment the blank reaches the free end of'the strip web, which ispositioned at the fixed knife, and a suction head for holding the stripweb in said position at the fixed knife ready to be engaged by therollers when the second said roller is pressed toward the rollercarrying the knife, whereupon the web is pulled from the suction head asthe blank and web pass between the rollers and the knife on the feedingroller cuts the strip web after the rear end of the blank has passedbetween the rollers to provide the strip overhang. I

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,350,244 5/44Malhist 156522 X 2,732,880 1/56 Hawk 156522 EARL M. BERGERT, PrimaryExaminer,

1. APPARATUS FOR APPLYING A STRIP BEARING ADHESIVE TO A PAPER BLANK SOTHAT ONE END OF A STRIP OVERHANGS THE BLANK COMPRISING MEANS FORSUPPLYING STRIP MATERIAL AS A WEB, A WEB FEEDING ROLLER AND A PRESSERROLLER ARRANGED INTERMITTENTLY TO COOPERATE WITH THE WEB FEEDING ROLLERTO DRAW WEB FROM THE SUPPLYING MEANS, MEANS FOR FEEDING A BLANK WHICH ISSHORTER THAN A STRIP TOTHE FEED ROLLER AT EVERY SECOND REVOLUTIONTHEREOF AND SO THAT THE LEADING EDGE OF THE BLANK APPROXIMATELYCOINCIDES WITH THE LEADING EDGE OF THE STRIP WEB AT THE FIXED KNIFE,MEANS MOVABLE IN TIMED RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FEEDING ROLLER TO CAUSE THEPRESSER ROLLER TO COOPERATE WITH THE FEEDING ROLLER AS THE BLANK REACHESTHE FIXED KNIFE WHEREBY THE WEB IS PRESSED ONTO THE BLANK, AND BOTH AREFED FORWARD, A FIXED KNIFE AND A KNIFE ON THE FEED ROLLER ARRANGED TOCOOPERATE THEREWITH AND CUT A STRIP FROM THE WEB, MEANS FOR HOLDING THELEADING EDGE OF THE STRIP WEB IN A POSITION ADJACETN THE NIP OF THEROLLERS DURING THE IDLE REVOLUTION OF THE FEED ROLLER, SAID MEANSCONSISTING OF A SUCTION HEAD WHICH EXERTS SUCTION SUFFICIENT TO HOLD THEWEB IN POSITION BUT NOT ENOUGH TO HINDER WEB FEEDING BY THE FEED ANDPRESSER ROLLERS.